The Mazda RX-8 is a mild-mannered rear-wheel drive sports car, especially when compared to the wild, twin turbo RX-7 it replaced. Moreover, unlike its predecessor, it comes with Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) as standard.
There’s so much the electronics can do, though. A 38-year old driving in Canterbury find that out the hard way when his RX-8 hit standing water while travelling at 70 mph (110 km/h), glided and hit an embankment.
“I was on my way to Canterbury city center to pick up a few things and grab a coffee”, the driver, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Daily Mail. “Travelling in a straight line in the outside lane, I saw the half mile sign for my turn off, so I started to slowly ease into the left lane ready to exit the dual carriageway.”
What happened next was captured in the dashcam he had in his Mazda – and it wasn’t good: “All of a sudden, the left wheels hit a lot of standing water that was only in the left lane, jerking the vehicle towards the bank. Because of the water, the car just glided like being on black ice.”
The crash was so severe that, to quote the insurance company, “there wasn’t a panel left on the car intact”. Thankfully, the driver escaped unharmed – and he said he was lucky to get out of this accident without a scratch.